Power back on for most Metro Atlantans | News

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ATLANTA -- More than 400,000 Georgia customers lost power in the wake of Monday night's storm. After a massive effort involving crews from eight states, all but about 500 Metro Atlantans are back online.

The homes and businesses still in the dark were evenly split between Georgia Power and Georgia Electric Membership Corporation customers as of Thursday morning. Statewide, just over 4,600 were still without power.

Cleanup will take much longer. Wild winds late Monday and Tuesday morning snapped power poles and trees like twigs across the region.

At least nine people were killed by the storms that tore through the Southeast. Bright lightning, loud thunder and wind gusts above 60 miles per hour streaked through, dumping rain and hail across the region.

A 21-year-old Atlanta man was killed Tuesday morning when a tree crushed his car without warning on West Marietta and Tilden streets in Northwest Atlanta. Chris Butler had just gotten engaged and was back home after serving two years in the U.S. Army.

In Dodge County, the National Weather Service confirmed an F-3 tornado touched down in the Gresston community, killing a 45-year-old man. Christopher McNair was killed and three others were hurt when the tornado destroyed a double-wide mobile home.

Residents and first responders in Gilmer County reported seeing a funnel cloud Monday night. The National Weather Service confirmed two tornados touched down there. No one was seriously hurt, but the Georgia Emergency Management Agency reported several people were trapped in their homes after the storm.

In Butts County, a 28-year-old father and his 3-year-old son were killed in their sleep when a tree crashed down on their Jackson home. The two shared the same name, Alix Bonhomme, and died in each others' arms.

11Alive's sister station, WALB in Albany, reports 44-year-old Carl Lott was killed and his wife was hurt when a tree struck their home in Irwin County. Also, two men were killed in Colquitt County: Ronnie Taylor, a county employee who was killed in a weather-related crash and Robert Kincaid, Jr. a prison inmate who was out cleaning up storm debris.

In addition to the Georgia deaths, one person was reported dead in Mississippi and one in Tennessee in Monday's storms.

In Northwest Atlanta, Howell Ragsdale narrowly escaped serious injury when a tree came down on his home on Hawthorne Avenue and landed at the foot of his bed. "I was just lucky," he said.

More than 30 families were displaced when a tree landed on a dormitory at Georgia Tech.

Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens said late Tuesday losses across the state from the storms was about $50 million. He reminded Georgians that they can call the Commission's Consumer Services Division at 404-656-2070 or 800-656-2298, if they have questions regarding a claim or trouble reaching their insurance provider. He also offered several tips on protecting property from future storms.

Here's a rundown of some of the damage reported by the National Weather Service:

People inside the Atlanta city limits, including Buckhead and Midtown, reported power outages and downed trees.

Trees were reported down in Duluth, Buford, Lawrenceville, Grayson and across Gwinnett County.

Damage was reported in several parts of Cobb County. Trees and power lines were down in Kennesaw, Mableton and Austell.

Floyd County Emergency Management reported downed trees in Rome, including one tree that fell onto a house. The house had reportedly caught fire. Trees were also reported across the county, especially in the Fred Kelly Road area, where water service was also reportedly out. Many roads were reportedly blocked by downed trees and power lines late Monday night.

Widespread damage was also reported in Fayette, Barrow, Coweta and Clayton counties. The roof was ripped off the Barrow County Administration Building.

According to GEMA, trees blocked 75 roads and fell on 14 homes. Two homes were hit by lightning, but there was no major fire damage.

In Gordon County, there were reports of winds damaging awnings and throwing debris around.

Several trees were reported down in the northern parts of Whitfield County.

Trees were reported down in Polk, Murray and Bartow Counties, the Storm Prediction Center reported.

In Fannin County, emergency responders reported widespread damage, including damage to a chicken coop four miles east of Morganton.

Emergency responders relayed reports of trees down along Buchanan Highway near Dallas in Paulding County.

The office of Carroll County Emergency Management reported to the Storm Prediction Center that there were a couple of trees down north of Carrollton.

Hall County emergency responders relayed reports of two trees down two miles north of Lula.